Australia travel as a T1D

[jb2000]

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this isn’t the right place to post, but I’m moving to Australia in October on a working holiday visa for 1 year and could use some advice. I’ve spoken with my diabetes team here in the UK, and they’ve told me I can bring up to three months’ worth of supplies. However, I’ll need to register with a doctor once I’m in Australia. I assume once I’m registered I will be able to go to my doctor to get my supplies?

My plan is to travel around for the first six weeks before settling in Perth, and I was wondering if anyone has gone through a similar process. What steps should I take before I leave and once I arrive to ensure everything goes smoothly with managing my diabetes?

Any tips or guidance would be really appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Wow! What an amazing adventure @jb2000

Good that you will have 3 months’ breathing space, though I bet that’ll scoot past super-quickly!

There’s an equivalent of DUK called Diabetes Australia who may have a forum or something similar where you could ask advice?

 

[Leadinglights]

Wow! What an amazing adventure @jb2000

Good that you will have 3 months’ breathing space, though I bet that’ll scoot past super-quickly!

There’s an equivalent of DUK called Diabetes Australia who may have a forum or something similar where you could ask advice?

That is interesting as @Jacinta (Australian) comes on the forum, she may have some advice for @jb2000 about what to expect in Australia.

 

[Eddy Edson]

This will give you an overview which you can use as a starting point: https://www.ndss.com.au/living-with-diabetes/driving-and-travel/visiting-or-moving-to-australia/

The health care system is different.

With a Medicare registration you have access to subsidised health services, drugs etc, but generally you have to pay something.

You choose your own GP, and I would suggest doing some research into GP practices in whatever location will be "home base" to find one which seems to have a clue about T1D. Check practice websites, Google reviews etc. Obviously some will have more availability than others.

Some practices "bulk bill", which means they don't charge anything beyond the Medicare subsidy, making consultations essentially free (but you still need to pay something for drugs etc). Most will charge something above the subsidy level, which means you have to pay the "gap". It's up to the practice, driven by market factors.

There are some electronic linkages between pharmacies and GP's, in some places, but generally you get a prescription and then you go to whatever pharmacy is most convenient to fill it. The GP isn't involved in dispensing.

EDIT: Sorry, re dispensing product. For some diabetes-specific stuff, like insulin pens, test strips, CGMs etc it actually happens via NDSS-linked pharmacies, rather than pharmacies in general, and to some extent you don't need a new prescription every time. https://www.ndss.com.au/products/

Most pharmacies are NDSS linked & I haven't had to get anything diabetes-specific for a long time now, so I'd spaced on this wrinkle.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks for your insight @Eddy Edson - that’s really helpful

 

[Eddy Edson]

Worth also mentioning that you might be eligible via GP for a "Diabetes Care Plan" which amongst other things gets you five subsidised vists per annum to "allied professionals" of your choice - podiatrist, dietitian, exercise physiologist etc. Again, you may have to make a co-payment, depending on what the provider charges.

https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/managing-diabetes/care-plans/